Family Caregiver Challenges

Common Challenges for Family Caregivers

Although family caregiving can be a genuinely rewarding experience, the caregivers often face common challenges that leave them overwhelmed, anxious, and even intimidated by their duties. Some of these challenges a family caregiver faces are:

• Loss of Job. Caregivers often find that they have incrementally worn themselves out (emotionally and physically), and as a result, they are not performing as well as they had been in their job. The caregiver usually does even know that this is occurring because it happens gradually, but it is not uncommon to find themselves without a job at the most inopportune time.
• Managing their time. Caregivers often find they have less time for themselves and other family members. They often spend so much time on caregiving duties that they end up sacrificing the things they enjoy, like hobbies or vacations. Or, they have trouble balancing work schedules around caregiving.
• Emotional and physical stress.  A large number, in fact, 22% of caregivers report that their health has gotten worse as a result of caregiving. Caring for a chronic condition like dementia or Alzheimer’s disease seems to cause the most emotional stress. The physical demands of caregiving can also take a toll when the duties include lifting and helping with mobility.
• Being afraid to ask for help. Many caregivers feel ashamed to ask for help from others. They feel they must assume the full caregiver burden as that asking for some assistance may be a sign of weakness. The caregiver in turn starts to feel guilty that they aren’t providing the best care that they could.
• Priorities change, shedding tasks. Obviously, there comes the point where you can not do everything, or even think about some tasks, and so they fall by the wayside. Landscaping falls apart, home maintenance slows down or stops, repairs pile up, and the house may even become damaged with things like dry rot.
• Lack of privacy. A family caregiver often reports feeling a lack of privacy in the home once they’ve taken on a loved one, especially in a smaller space. It can be difficult to set boundaries to get away from constant interactions.
• Depression and isolation. A family caregiver is often at high risk for depression. Oftentimes, caregiving duties take up so much of their time that they no longer maintain social connections outside of the home. And sadly, it is times like these that you find out who your true friends are, and for one reason or another, people that were in your life seem to disappear when you get wrapped up in an intense caregiver situation.
• Financial strain. Because most family caregivers are unpaid, they can start to feel some financial strain, especially when caregiving takes them away from a paying job. The longer the family caregiver has been providing care, the more financial strain they feel. And this can be greatly affected by the loss of a job for the caregiver.
• Sleep deprivation. Lack of sleep can be a big issue for a family caregiver, as often the loved one’s sleep-wake cycle can be mixed up, not to mention that the stress of caregiving can cause sleep issues for the caregiver. Sleep deprivation can take a huge toll on a caregiver who is already feeling the strain of being burned from both ends.

It’s important to seek a balance between caregiving and your own life. This is why respite services are so important to family caregivers. Respite care allows caregivers a break from their caregiving duties so they can attend to their own needs, whether it’s to focus on their own health or to pursue other interests.

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